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STSL Appeals Court Ruling on Toxic Landfill, Case Heads to Montana Supreme Court

****Please note there were a significant amount of errors within this article, please click the picture for the corrections**** Back in June, a local protest group known as Stop the Shepherd Landfill, filed an official lawsuit against the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).

In an effort to bring attention and support to their efforts, twelve individuals stand before Pacific Steel and Recycling's (PSR) 90-acre automotive shredder residue (ASR) landfill in Shepherd on Saturday, November 9.

A local group entitled Stop The Shepherd Landfill has filed a lawsuit in Yellowstone County District Court challenging a license recently issued by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to Pacific Steel and Recycling that was finalized on 6/11/24.

Construction is set to start on July 1 near Shepherd on a landfill for automotive shredder residue (ASR).

Some nearby residents filed a lawsuit alleging the Montana Department of Environmental (DEQ) did not do a complete report on the toxic materials.

Pacific Steel and Recycling is scheduled to start construction July 1 on a new landfill for automobile waste 7 miles north of Billings after receiving approval from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality.

DEQ signed off on the 320-acre project despite protests from surrounding landowners concerned about possible toxic runoff from debris, air pollution, fire risks, decreased home values and increased traffic along Highway 87. More than 350 comments were received on the proposal.

It felt like they were getting somewhere. Anellise Deters and her Shepherd neighbors persuaded state regulators to tap the brakes on permitting an automobile waste landfill in their area.

Anellise Deters was nothing short of shocked Monday, January 22, when she was told by the Billings City Attorney’s Office that she would have to pay $6,929 to fulfill a public records request she filed nearly three months ago.

Montana environmental regulators took heat this week for initially giving the public just 10 days to weigh in on a proposed landfill near Shepherd — seemingly at the request of the developer.

The public notice Shepherd residents received about a landfill being proposed for their neighborhood indicated they had had just 10 days to respond, before state regulators advanced the permitting process.

A great deal of animosity was evident Thursday, November 21, from the Shepherd community at a public meeting regarding the idea of Pacific Steel & Recycling (PSR) building a repository to store scrap metal waste near the corner of U.S. Highway 87 North and Shepherd Acton Road.

At the open discussion for the Yellowstone County Commissioners meeting, residents from near where [Shepherd, MT] the proposed repository would sit expressed their concerns about the potential monofill.

Pacific Steel and Recycling has been working on plans for this new facility that would process what’s currently discarded as waste from their recycling process. The proposed repository would store that auto shredder residue or A.S.R. material, which looks like finely ground dirt. It can consist of materials like dirt, rubber, paint, glass and other materials.

Three Yellowstone County
residents take umbrage with a statement made by Pacific Steel & Recycling in their support documents seeking approval to build a repository. The company wrote, “The immediate area surrounding the proposed repository area is sparsely populated and the local residents will become accustomed to the noise, traffic, and odor associated with routine operations."

Locals gathered in the high school’s gym to hear from representatives of the Department of Environmental Quality and Pacific Recycling & Steel regarding a proposed landfill they want to build.

However, they were met with some strong resistance. (View Echo Reports in "Enforcement & Compliance" page in site menu above)

“The design that they do have and the proposal that they do have is very incomplete and inconsistent,” said Shepherd resident Anellise Deters.

In Shepherd, a proposed landfill is the focus of discussion among many in the community, and the D.E.Q. is hosting a public meeting to clarify, and answer citizens' concerns.

A private landfill for shredded car waste, which would be located a few miles east of the Billings Heights, will get a public meeting the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality is extending a public commenting period for a proposed auto shredder residue repository, which is ruffling feathers for area landowners and residents in Shepherd.

The public comment period for Pacific Steel & Recycling's proposed licensing and development of a repository near Shepherd will end November 30.